Luke spent the rest of the trip memorizing the various enterprises and planetary income of the planet and its moons in relation to the star system and the surrounding region.
The Prime Minister appeared to be trustworthy, but time would tell. The high council of Xilec was less so.
As for the other planets in the system, there was a factory planet, Pilo, responsible for most of the melee weaponry in the star system and the surrounding territory.
An ice planet, Kifa, home to the Narrow Glacier Sect and a wide number of ice-based cultivation treasures.
The planet Chime was a farming and agricultural world. Most of the star system's food came from this planet, although they didn't export outside it.
The planet Kreus was the size of a small moon, but it was circled by a man-made orbital ring. A while back, the purple planet had been conquered by cultists- not that anyone cared.
The planet was virtually worthless, a standard hunk of ore without the various metals and minerals to make it profitable.
The five planets of the Blabobah star system didn't make much profit- but together, the interlaying network of operations made them sustainable.
As the shuttle landed on the planet's surface, a delegation approached to meet them. The prime minister himself was leading it, with a flourish, the Shadow Envoys twisted their spears before leading Luke to meet them.
"I'm glad you've arrived." The prime minister started. "Quick, you must hurry with weapons to these coordinates before the interlopers steal the crown jewel of Xilec."
The shadow envoys jumped. They quickly summoned reinforcements from the nearby fleet before splitting up. Of the 16 shadow envoys sent to guard him, 7 disappeared to the coordinates provided by the minister. 16 more Shadow Envoys appeared before quickly joining the other seven.
Luke waited nervously with Lawrence. Just what was going on?
As they waited, the prime minister began to slowly explain. "Under threat of death, I was ordered to keep this quiet. The former owners of the planet were waiting to capitalize on Xilec's biggest bounty."
"Every thousand years, Xilece gives birth to a 'World Stone.' The world stone can be used as both a primary cultivation path, or, once tempered, as a world embryo for side cultivation."
"This item is worth over a quintillion federation coins on the black market."
"Xilec's gross per-year capita comes to around 800 billion federation coins. When the alliance took their crown for a mere 80 trillion federation coins, they near went mad. In comparison to the quintillion coins they were supposed to receive…"
"To make matters worse, the world stone's appearance is, well, right now."
"Right now?" Lawrence asked, incredulous.
"Yep." The minister announced matter-of-factly. "Ridiculous, isn't it?"
"Theres actually another world stone that they did give up-but it's stuck on the ruling rod. Since they couldn't take it off, and were legally stuck with giving it away, they decided to keep the new stone a secret and abscond with it."
At this moment, the Shadow Envoys returned. They were a noticably smaller force than before. "They laid several traps,but we prevailed." Handing the stone to Luke, he added, "We are ready to serve."
Lawrence scoffed. "The Wavemount corporation is finished. To dare target federation soldiers…"
He clicked his teeth. He understood their heart, but to truly act upon it was utter foolishness.
Luke donned a saddened smile. "Thank you, Envoys, for your service and that of your comrades. They fought with honor, and their killers will not rest unpunished."
"Minister, I would like to meet my fellow rulers of our system's planets in the Royal Gardens. Can you arrange it?"
"Yes, ruler."
Two of the shadow envoys disappeared. Throughly checking the gardens, one reappeared with confirmation. The group teleported.
A short while later, a delegation of four rulers and their guards appeared.
As the five groups closed in, they met with each other. "Greetings!" The prime minister announced. "This is the new ruler of Xilec, Luke Jaywalker, the newest EX-class Mech Pilot and the path to Xilec's future. He has requested an audience with your eminences."
"Please." Jay stopped him. "Let's sit." He motioned to the nearby stone circle.
The four rulers sat. The conference was about to begin.